Uninsured/ Underinsured Accident Injury Attorneys in Charlotte, NC

Recycling is a great way to help the environment, but some North Carolina residents don’t have a way to dispose of their bottles and cans.

When we published a story this spring telling residents which items they have to recycle instead of throwing in the trash, a few readers reached out to tell us they don’t have access to recycling services where they live.

A reader who lives in Southern Pines emailed the Observer saying her apartment complex recently stopped offering recycling services.

“When I first moved here six months ago, there were some small containers for recyclables, but since then they have been taken away,” she said. “How do I recycle things?”

Another reader who lives in Mooresville said his apartment never offered it.

“The apartment complex I live in does not offer any recycling,” he said. “Who can enforce such a thing? I thought everyone had to offer recycling.”

According to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), one in five North Carolinians live in multifamily residential units and many do not have access to recycling.

If you’re struggling to find ways to recycle in North Carolina, here’s what you can do.

There is no state law that requires apartment complexes to offer recycling services, but some municipalities have laws that mandate it.

For example, Fayetteville requires all multi-family complexes of more than seven units on a single parcel to provide recycling for residents, according to an ordinance approved by the City Council in 2011.

In 2016, city of Raleigh leaders decided not to require apartment recycling. In 2020, a Charlotte resident began a petition urging the city of Charlotte to require apartment recycling, which has not happened.

Still, North Carolina is among dozens of states that have mandatory recycling requirements, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. Plastic bottles, aluminum cans and wooden pallets are among the items banned from landfills in the state.

“Most of the landfill bans are governed by NC General Statute 130A-309.10, which acknowledges that the occasional disposal of small amounts of prohibited materials is likely to occur and is not deemed a violation,” Katherine Lucas, a spokesperson for NCDEQ, previously told The Charlotte Observer over email.

Businesses found to be intentionally circumventing the statute could be fined up to $15,000 per day per violation, Lucas said.

NCDEQ did not respond to multiple emails asking how North Carolina residents who do not have access to waste collection services can recycle.

If you live in Charlotte or the Triangle, you can visit your county’s solid waste page to see where to recycle your items:

You can use Earth911’s Recycling Center Search tool to find a recycling center near your home.

Just enter your zip code to search through the company’s database of more than 100,000 recycling locations across the nation. You can also filter your search results by the material you need to recycle.

In North Carolina, most recycling, waste reduction and solid waste management programs are run by local governments, according to DEQ.

You can look up solid waste contacts for your city or town at deq.nc.gov/recycling/lgcontacts.

Just type the name of your city, town or county in the search bar or zoom in and click the area where you live to get contact information for local staff and a link to the local website.

NCDEQ’s Multifamily Recycling Grant Program offers funding to initiate or expand multifamily recycling programs within the state and is open to multifamily property owners or management companies.

Grant funds can be used to purchase equipment, such as carts, dumpsters, collection vehicles, concrete pads and recycling corrals, according to NCDEQ. Funds can also be used to fund positions or labor to manage multifamily recycling programs.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For more information or assistance, call 919-707-8135.

Here are some simple ways you can reduce waste in your home, according to One Tree Planted, a conservation nonprofit:

Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

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April 2, 2025 6:00 AM

Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte said Monday that the death of Pope Francis is a day of sorrow for the Catholic Church and the diocese in particular.

“Close to 600,000 Catholics, here in our diocese in western North Carolina, wake up this morning to the sad news and realize that the one thing that is assured for all of us is that death is not the final answer, but rather that we have been promised everlasting life,” Martin said at a news conference Monday at the diocese office in Charlotte. “I believe it’s fitting that we celebrate Pope Francis’ life within the Easter season, just yesterday himself having celebrated Easter, having celebrated the gift of resurrection that Jesus promises to all of us.”

Martin announced that the public is invited to join Catholics in remembering Pope Francis from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Western North Carolina churches across the Diocese of Charlotte. A large Mass to celebrate his life will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Saint Mark Catholic Church, 14740 Stumptown Road, Huntersville.

Catholic churches around the world observe nine days of mourning upon the passing of a pope.

Martin said Pope Francis had a genuine joy about life when he met him. During a meeting in September with other bishops, Martin said Francis was incredibly serious at times about topics. In various moments later he would laugh and joke about other things.

“In that regard I found him incredibly genuine and someone with whom I felt an immediate comfort, and I think most people would say the same,” Martin said.

Pope Francis appointed Martin to become the bishop of Charlotte, and Martin said he was honored to be chosen. Martin also felt blessed to have met past popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI before his election.

“Each of those men and their predecessors have made an incredible difference on our world and on me, personally,” he said. “Absolutely, I’m particularly saddened today.”

Martin humbly suggested that Pope Francis’ most significant contribution to the church was “synodality,” which he described as a process of church members walking and talking together.

“Basically, he called the church to be a more listening church, a church that listens in a time and in a world where listening is hard to find,” Martin said. “Everyone wants to be heard, not too many people want to hear — want to actually listen. And so he called the church to be in a perpetual posture of listening through synodality, through bringing people together to share where they were, but more importantly, less about sharing where they are, more about listening to where others are.”

In statements released by the diocese, the Rev. Mark Lawlor of St. Therese Church in Mooresville recalled the excitement around Pope Francis’ election.

“His ministry goals have been inclusive and open… I appreciate his wisdom and thoughtfulness.”

Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune of the Diocese of Charleston, the one Catholic diocese for South Carolina, issued a statement Monday that spoke of Pope Francis’ unwavering commitment to the world’s poor and impoverished.

“It is with deep sorrow that I join the Universal Church in mourning the passing of Pope Francis,” the statement said. “His leadership, compassion and unwavering commitment to peace and justice have inspired millions worldwide, and in a special way the young.”

The pope’s warm, humble, no-nonsense manner galvanized the Roman Catholic Church and drew widespread admiration from outsiders almost from the moment of his surprise election to the throne of St. Peter in 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, the son of Italian immigrants. He was ordained as a priest in December 1969.

Francis, the first Latin American pope in history, was a native of Argentina, where he was a bishop. He hadn’t returned to his home country since being elected pope in 2013.

As pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio made his first trip outside Rome in July 2013, to the Italian island of Lampedusa to highlight the plight of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the lives lost at sea, according to the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops timeline of his papacy.

In 2015, Francis traveled to Cuba and made his first visit to the United States.

Francis in 2019 opened a global summit on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. He visited Iraq in 2021, and the same year underwent surgery to remove part of his colon.

The Vatican’s process for selecting a new pope is called a conclave, known for the white smoke from the chimney at the Sistine Chapel to signify that a new pope has been chosen.

Cardinals will be called to the Vatican for the selection process. The Washington Post published a story Monday looking at some of the contenders.

Father Agustin Guzman, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Rock Hill, said Monday in a phone interview Pope Francis was a “change agent” who emphasized the mercy of the Lord.

Pope Francis’ work reconciled the canons between the Latin and Eastern churches, doing some incredible work in bringing those codes together, Guzman said.

The Charlotte and Rock Hill regions have thousands of people, many of them Catholics, whose heritage is from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guzman, who is of Cuban descent, said Pope Francis’ Latin American heritage was and remains important among Latin American Catholics.

“He was one of us in a sense,” Guzman said.

Father John Giuliani of All Saints Catholic Church in Lake Wylie has been in York County at the Rock Hill Oratory Catholic organization for 50 years.

Giuliani was pastor at Fort Mill’s St. Philip Neri church for more than a quarter century, and also has pastored at St. Mary in Rock Hill and Divine Saviour in York. He said Pope Francis was “a great pope” whose humility and compassion was known worldwide and in the York County community amongst Catholics and all people.

“He was very down to earth, a great guy,” Giuliani said by phone Monday. “An excellent human being.”

Pope Francis has a legacy of inclusiveness for all people, Giuliani said.

“Pope Francis will be a hard act to follow,” Giuliani said.

This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 8:21 AM.

The Charlotte Observer

Chase Jordan is a business reporter for The Charlotte Observer, and has nearly a decade of experience covering news in North Carolina. Prior to joining the Observer, he was a growth and development reporter for the Wilmington StarNews. The Kansas City native is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University.

Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM

10129 Perimeter Pkwy, Charlotte, NC, 28216

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 21, 2025) – Verlo Mattress®, America’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer mattress franchise, announced it is officially opening the doors to Charlotte’s first Verlo Mattress factory store located at 10129 Perimeter Parkway on April 21.

Verlo Mattress’ new store concept is highly unique – every mattress is made at the local factory store in the area it was purchased, tailored to the individual customer to fit their own sleep needs and sold at a factory-direct price, cutting out the middleman-associated markup. The company offers a range of options, including power adjustable bases, single- and double-sided mattresses and products focused on enhanced cooling comfort. Customers also have the rare opportunity to observe the mattress-crafting process, providing a level of transparency uncommon in the industry.

Owned and operated by local Charlotte franchisee Nitin Bulsara and his family, the new 5,800 square-foot store offers high-quality and hand-made custom mattresses, pillows, adjustable bases and other sleep products.

“We are committed to making a positive impact in our community by providing a tailored comfort in mattresses and improving how people sleep,” Nitin said. "We are also very excited to serve our customers with Verlo’s Lifetime Comfort Adjustment Guarantee, which means the customer can have the comfort of their mattress adjusted long after the purchase from the convenience of their home, ensuring a truly individualized comfort experience."

The new Verlo Mattress of Charlotte store is now open with the following hours of operation:

To learn more about Verlo Mattress, please visit verlo.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

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About Verlo Mattress®

Founded in 1958, Verlo Mattress is America's fastest-growing direct-to-consumer mattress company with 44 stores in 12 states and counting. Verlo Mattress is passionate about helping people find the right sleep products – at the best prices – because so much depends on a good night’s sleep. Verlo mattresses are built in local mattress factories, sold at consumer-direct prices, and serviced locally with a Lifetime Comfort Guarantee.

At the heart of the company's philosophy lies an unwavering commitment to delivering customizable, American-made and locally crafted mattresses. This dedication forms the bedrock of Verlo's belief system that everyone deserves a comfortable night’s sleep.

About Franchisee

With 50 years of experience in the custom tailoring profession, Nitin Bulsara is excited to bring his expertise to his new role as a Verlo Mattress franchisee in Charlotte, NC. Alongside his business partners and family members, Ajit Bhat and Kingel Bulsara, Nitin is committed to promoting health and wellness through quality sleep solutions. Recognizing the vital role that a good night’s rest plays in overall well-being, he applies his skills in precision and customization to create bespoke mattresses tailored to meet the unique needs of each Verlo customer. Nitin and his team are dedicated to ensuring that every customer enjoys the perfect sleep experience.

Charlotte, NC (April 19, 2025) – A tragic late-night crash in southwest Charlotte claimed the life of one individual and left three others hospitalized on Friday. The incident took place just before 11 p.m. on Shopton Rd near Ayrshire Glen Pl, prompting a swift emergency response from local agencies including Medic and Charlotte Fire crews.

Medics and fire crews worked to assist those suffering from injuries after the collision. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while three others were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Of the three, two sustained serious injuries and one was reported to have life-threatening injuries. Specific details about the number of vehicles involved or the circumstances leading up to the crash have not yet been confirmed by authorities.

An investigation is ongoing to determine what caused the fatal accident. No further information has been released regarding the identities of those involved.

Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this devastating incident.

The Reality of Severe Nighttime Crashes in Charlotte

Crashes that occur during late-night hours often carry a heightened risk of severe injuries or fatalities, particularly along less illuminated roadways like Shopton Rd. Factors such as limited visibility, driver fatigue, and the potential presence of impaired or distracted drivers can significantly increase the danger of nighttime travel.

The area near Ayrshire Glen Pl, situated in a residential section of Charlotte, may experience reduced traffic during nighttime hours, but that can also lead to higher vehicle speeds—intensifying the impact when a collision does occur.

Following a serious crash, survivors and loved ones often face not only the physical toll of injury or loss but also the emotional and financial consequences. Seeking immediate medical care, preserving evidence, and understanding one’s rights are essential steps in the recovery process.

For more information or to receive help after an accident, contact Local Accident Reports.

Two Powerball players won big in North Carolina — but might not know it yet.

The players bought tickets that matched all but one number picked in the April 19 drawing, making each of them worth $50,000, results show.

The winning numbers: white balls 7-25-37-39-63, with red Powerball 1.

One of the winning tickets was sold online to a player in Raeford, a roughly 75-mile drive southwest from Raleigh. Meanwhile, the other player bought their lucky ticket at the Food Lion grocery store on West Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte, the N.C. Education Lottery wrote on its website and in an email to McClatchy News.

Congrats to two big winners in Saturday's Powerball drawing! A player with a ticket from Food Lion on West Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte and a player with an Online Play ticket each won $50,000! Remember to check your numbers! pic.twitter.com/9l3yQjufZI

— NC Education Lottery (@nclottery) April 21, 2025

The lucky players spent $2 on their tickets, which matched four of the white balls and the red ball to win big. Each of the tickets was one number from scoring the estimated jackpot prize of $129 million, according to the Powerball website.

“Remember to check your numbers,” lottery officials wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

As of early April 21, the two prizes hadn’t been claimed. In North Carolina, Powerball winners have about six months to cash in, according to game rules.

To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.